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Posts Tagged ‘life’

There’s a little dude living out in front of our house whose habitat is in danger of being destroyed.

“Warty” (not his real name) has lived contentedly in a crack between our cement sidewalk and garage for around 3 years. During this time I have watched him grow from a wee little toad-ette into the fine toad he is today. I have seen him grazing (or whatever toads do when they’re looking for bugs) on our driveway late at night and hanging out next the edge of our grass – just minding his own business and being a contributing member of society through the consumption of harmful, disease-carrying mosquitoes.

But our sidewalk is sinking in the vicinity of his home forcing water to run off toward the house instead of away from it. This is causing errotion next to the house and parts of the sidewalk could eventually crack due to issues this is creating. My husband, Ron, has voiced numerous times that we need to fix the problem which means raising one side of the concrete slab — and digging into the area around Warty’s home.

I have tried repeatedly to warn Warty about the possibility that his home could be destroyed but he has refused to leave his crack. When I have “shooed” him to the back of the house or toward the woods, he stubbornly returns, nestles into the crack, and pretends he’s oblivious to the problem.

Warty is a lot like Harry Truman, the crotchety old man who refused to leave his lifelong home situated at the foot of Mount St. Helen’s prior to its catastrophic destruction back in 1980. Harry had been warned countless times that his life was in imminent danger if he didn’t leave. But his stubbornness prevailed and he eventually lost his life when the lodge in which he had been living was eradicated by lava flow.

Harry Truman - Photo courtesy of Wikepedia

I never understood Harry and why, after repeated warnings and coaxing by authorities, he refused to leave. I don’t understand Warty, either. Sure…other cracks and holes may not be as comfortable or familiar as the crack situated next to our garage, but I’m sure he could make due. And yes…I “get” that Warty has grown up next to the house and that’s where all of his toadly memories are. But is all of that worth losing your life? I guess he doesn’t get that whole thing – that life is a gift and he shouldn’t squander it.

For now, we have decided to hold off on the sidewalk project to see if we can sway Warty’s decision. But I’m also actually considering capturing him inside of a plastic Market Pantry ice cream pail if we do decide to proceed with it, then releasing him immediately after we are done. I don’t know if Warty would ever forgive me for that but I guess it’s a risk I may have to take.